Sliding-door-locking mechanism.



A. LRosENmEEn.

SLlDING D008 LOCKING MECHANISM.

APPucAHou mio MAR. 2s. |911..

Patented Dec, 10, i918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 'A. J. hROSENTRIETER. summe Doon LOCKING MECHANlsM.

APPLICA'HON FILED MAR. 26.1917.

wwwtofa fu BERT J. Rasur/ffm? uni-TED! s'rn*riasmariani*r onirica;

ALBERT'J. ROSENTRETER, OF BOONTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORTO EDGAR ZABRISKIE, OF MAPLEWOOI), NEW JERSEY, AND'FRANK El HUTCHINS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification r of LettersPatent.` Patented Dec; Y1918;

.Application led March 26, 1917; Serial No. 157,391. t Y

To all whom z'tmay concern: i

Be it known that I, AUsER'r J: ROSEN- TRETER, a citizen of the'United States, and a.

resident of Boonton, in the county of Mor'- ris and' State of New Jerseyhave inventedVl certain new and useful Improvements in Sliding-Door-Locking Mechanisms, owhich c the following is a speciiication,` Y j The invention pertains more particularly to locking mechanism lfor sliding doors of the character employed atthe different floorsV ofy buildings for guarding` the entrances at" the elevator shaft or shafts andpermi`tting whenvopem, access to the elevator car'or cars.

when arrested at' thev several floors ofthe building. These slidingdoors arejovarious.

types`there beingin some instancesa stationary, door, or. panel imitating a door,

with one slidingdoor to be moved by; the operator on the car or hoist, andV in other 1nstances such panell withtwo sliding doors arranged'v to telescopeone on the other and to be operated by the elevator attendant,Vv

andin still other instances the said panel representing a door is infact a door and hinged so that it may be openedl and fully expose the car, this latter c lass'usually being employed in connection with elevator' cars' vides a means for locking the door in closed' t position, the lock acting automatically and with certaintyv when' the sliding door to which the mechanism is connected reaches its closedposition. The locking-mechanism of my invention also prevents a person who `may be on the floor of the building from sliding the door, after the same-has nearly reached its closed-position, to an open position in an attemptv to enter the car. kOne purpose ofl the invention is to provide durable, inexpensive and eiicientsliding-,door

lockingmechani`sms which may be appliedv to doors: already installed, as well astonew d'oorsyto be placed in position; and onefof the` mainy objects ,of my invention is to pro=` vide suitable" sliding-door locking-mechanism which maybe ireliedzuponto automatically lockthe door when VVthe 1 door reaches its Vclosed position and'toy prevent therunau-f thorized' opening of the door from, the .hall side ofthe elevator shaft. Many. accidentsV have occurredto persons who on finding-an elevator-shaft .door moving toits closedposition, make an attempt .tov` force the door open and enter. the car,. and: one purpose ot my invention is torendery any such accident` impossible.

The mechanism offmy-invention comprises two main telescopic members normally standingin inclined" position, they upper endv of' one of the members being pivotally cons nectedwith the sliding door andthe lower' end oi"` the other. member-being pivotally, connected witha stationary abutment, and said members at their adjoining portions areV adapted to automatically interlock one Awith theother when the door reaches itsy closedV position t'othereby resist the opening of the door 'until said members have been manually, disengaged from each other. Usually one ofsaid members jwill have a projection or lip to enter a ratchet tooth recess in the other member, andi thereby become interlocked therewith so as to prevent opening move-y ment ofthe ydoom-and preferablv the member having the notch or recess will have several such notches or recesses so as to resistl after thedoor has approached its closed position, any opening of the door by a force exerted against the same from the outer side of the door by a person attempting to push the door' open tor the purpose of enteringtheelevator car. The two members of the locking mechanism may respectively be a piece of tubing and a rod to telescope with the same, they lower end ofthe piece of tubing having the lip or projection and the rod the notches orrecesses to interlock with said lip'v or projection. I also provide means for adjusting the locking mechanism with relation to variations in doors, and also means for the convenient application ot said mech- The invention will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is an elevation of a pair of twospeed sliding doorsV and an imitation or panel door for an elevator shaft equipped with the mechanism of my invention, this figure showing the side of the doors which face the elevator shaft;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section through the same, on a larger scale, taken on the dotted` line 2--2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on a much larger scale through a portion of the back stile of the first sliding door and through a portion of the locking mechanism, taken about on the dotted line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a detached side elevation, partly in section, of the locking mechanism, a portion of the first sliding door and the station ary abutment for said mechanism being also shown;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, of the adjoining portions of the two main members of the locking mechanism, Fig. 5 showing the position of they parts when the same are interlocked and lock the slidingdoor or doors in closed position;

Fig. 6 is a like view ofV the same illustrating the relation of the telescopic parts when that member connected with the sliding door has been tilted to free it from locking engagement with the other member preparatory to the doors being moved to open position;

Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the same, taken on the dotted line 7-7 of Fig. 5; Fig. 8 is a transverse section through the same, taken on the dotted line 8-8 of Fig. 6; 9 is a top view, partly in section and partly broken away, of the means for connecting, in an adjustable manner, the lower member of the locking telescopic mechanism with the stationary abutment, and

Fig. 10 is a transverse section through the same, taken on the dotted line 10u10 of F ig. 4. Y

In the drawings, 10` designates the outer sliding door, 11 the inner sliding door and.

a stationary imita-tion door or pannel behind which in the usual course of practice the elevator operator stands, with his right hand near the starting and stopping devices of the elevator. The v,doors 10, 11, 12 are of usual type, and the door 12 customarily corresponds in appearance with the doors 10,v 1l. but is stationary under usual conditions,l although sometimes hinged at its'right hand edge, looking at Fig. 1, so that it may be opened and eXpose the full width of the elevater car to receive freight. In the drawings l. illustratemy invention as applied yto door 11 so that both doors .may reach their open and closed positions at the same time.

The mechanism of my invention comprises three main members, one being a tubular member 14 pivotally connected with the sliding door 10, another 'being a link or bar 15 pivotally connected with a stationary bracket 1G and the other a. rod 17 adapted to telescope with the member 14 and held at its lower end in the link or bar 15. The bracket 16 is secured tothe jainb or framing of the general door opening and Aaffords a vfixed abutment for the locking mechanism.

The tubular member 14 has secured in its upper end a hub 18 which is tubular and in one piece with a cap 19 adapted to fit upon a sleeve 20 forming a stud part of a bracket 21 which is fastened to the first sliding door and preferably upon the back stile thereof, as shown in Fig. 1. The cap 19 is adapted tohave rotary oi' rocking movement upon the sleeve 20, and said sleeve has an annular shallow groove 22 to engage and be engaged by a ball-pawl 23 mounted in the hub 18 and pressed by a spring 24 vagainst the sleeve 20. pin 25 serves to retain the spring 24 in place anda pin 26 fastens the hub 18 to the tubular member 14. The spring-pressed ball 23 serves to lock the cap 19 upon the sleeve 20 and at the same time permits the member 14 to have a hinged movement upon said sleeve, and in addition should it ever be desired to remove the member 14 from the door-10, the ball 23 will yield (by being forced against the spring 24) to a sharp outward jerk on the member 14 parallel with the sleeve 20 sufiiciently to permit said memi bei' to be slipped olf from said sleeve, and this feature of the construction I-regard as of importance. The sleeve 20 is hollow and inline with an opening 27 extending through the door 10 to the outer face thereof, and the end of the cap 19 is formed with a polygonal opening 28 in line with said opening 27, and this arrangement is provided so that, should occasion require, a personen the floor of a building, with the use of-a proper key, may be able to unlock the door 10 so as to start the doors on their opening movement. The locking mechanism of my invention is ordinarily to be operated by the attendant on a car and at the shaft side of the doors, but should occasion overa-rise, said mechanism may be unlocked from the hall side of the elevator shaft by a person using a proper key .adapted to the openings 27, 28, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

The cap 19 is by preference formed with a lever-handle 29 by which the elevator operator may effect the unlocking of the mech anism and the movement of the door 10 toward its open position, said handle 29 being provided as a matter of convenience and not of necessity, because the said operator may unlock the mechanism and start the door 10 10 is reaching itsclosed position, push said toiits open position lby lifting pressure on the lower side of the 'tubular member 14, should he so desire.

`The tubular member 14 is simply a plain straight piece of tubing secured by a pin 26 or vthe like to the hub 18 and having on its lower. end a cap 30 which is open in its central portion to admit the lower rod or member 17 of the lockingmechanism. The opening in the cap30 is ofthe outline more fully illustrated in Figs. 7 and l8, in which it will beseen that said opening is notaicircle, but is circular at its lower ,partandaords a lip. 31 at its upper part adapted to enter a notch or recess 32 in the rod '17, kand thus interlock said rod with the tubular member 14` ,The tubular member y14 is of greater diameter than the rod 17, as shown in Figs. `and A6, and hence when the doors are in closed position and the members 14, 417 sag into interlocking relation in the closed position of vthe doors, said members may y'become interlocked by the engagement .of `the `lip 31 on the sleeve 30 with a recess 32 Vin `the rod 17. When it is desired to unlock `Vthe doors so that they maybe opened, the tubular member 14 is tilted upwardly `at its lower portion so as `to free :the lip 31 'from the notch or recess`32 it engages of the rod 1 7, and atv that time during 'the opening movement of the door 10, the .member '14 and lthe rod` 17 may telescope upon each other, until `finally they stand 'in snbstantially vertical alinement near fthe jamb .of the door, as indicated by dotted lines in lFig. 1. The rod 17 will preferably have several notches or recesses 32 each affording a shoulder to resist the opening movement of the door 10, and vduring the closing movement of the door the'lip 31 on the member 14 will slide over said notches or recesses and not interlockv with the same. I provide several ofthe notches or recesses 32 so that during the closing movement of the door '10 a person in the hall may not, when the door door open, the action of pushing on the outer edge of the door 10 serving to effect the engagement of the lip 31 on the member 14 with the notch or recess 32 which then may -be nearest to said lip. The rod 17 is a plain straight rod having the notches or recesses 32 at its upper portion, and at its lower portion said rod is flattened at oppositeV sidesas shown in Figs. 9 and 10, and threaded 4at its other or segmental sides to receive, internallythreaded nuts 33, 34. The lower end of the rod 17 extendsthrough an arm 35 which is integral with the arm orlink 15 and is at the upper end thereof, said arm having a free hole through which the lower portion of said rod 17 passes and which rod is secured to said arm 35 and link` 15 by the aforesaid nuts 33, 34, which serve to bind the rod in adjusted position with respect tothe link 15. YThe threads on the lower end ofthe rod 17 permit said rod to be adjusted with relation tothe arm or link 15 and member 14 so as top-adapt the locking mechanism to varying dimensionsand conditions which may be found in sliding doors to which it may be desired to apply the mechanism. The hole in the arm 35 `through ywhich the lower portion of the rod 17 extends is elongated,as indicated in Fig. 1.0, at37, and hence said rod 17 can not rotate in the hole in the arm 35,. but mustv be slid longitudinally therethrough and l.then xsecured by meansof the nuts 33, 34. (The arm or link 15 is secured at its lower end by Va rivet 38 or the like to the bracket 16 and .becomes a hingedmember connected with said bracket and the rod 17 and -is in effect a continuation of said rod, the arm or link 15 being provided as a `convenient way .of vconnecting the rod with the stationary bracket or abutment .16 and of providing for-the'adiustment of said rod, with respect 'to yits length, to meet the varying conditions incident to the application of the mechanism ato doors already installed.

The operation of the mechanism embodying `my invention will .largely'be understood from .the'description hereinbefore presented. The mechanism comprises, mainly, two telesoopicmembers arranged in'inc'lined position with 4the upper kend of one member pivotally connected with a sliding door and the lower end -of the other member pivotallly connected toa stationary abutment, and said vmembers at their adjoining portions are of varying diameter so that the members may, at such portions, I,sag downwardly for the Vpurpose ofcausing the projecting lip 31 on one member `to .automatically engage and interlock with awrecessfor notch 32'in the other member, thereby preventing movement of said members with relation vto each other which would permit the opening of the door. e When thedoor is to be slid to its open position, the operator by pressingv downwardly on the crank handle 29 may cause the member 14 to turn upwardly suiliciently for the lip or projection 31 to leave the notch or recess 32 in the member 17, as shown in Fig. 6, and thereupon the pressure on the crank handle 29 will Imove the sliding door toward its open position. After the lower end lof the Vmember l14 has passed beyond the several notches or recesses 32, the operator may release 'his lhold on the handle y29 and complete the .opening movement of the door `by the Lpressure of'his hand applied directly to the edge thereof. In lieu of using the handle 29 (for starting the sliding door toward its open position, the operator may take hold'of the member 14 and elevate its lower Yend to lfree the lip or projection 31 fromithe member 17 and then by continued pressure 1in a horizontal direction 'against' the member 14 cause the door to slide toward its open position. When the door is in closed position it cannot be opened by pressure applied directly thereto, because of the interlocking engagement of the lower end of the member 14 with the upper portion of the member 17; as the door is reaching its closed position, the projection or lip 31 will slide over the notches or recesses 3:2, but will interlock with some one of said notches or recesses on any reverse movement ofthe door tending to open the same, one purpose of the invention being to prevent a person on the door of a building from pushing the' sliding-door open at a time when the door is intended to move to its closed position. The sliding door may, however, be opened from the hall-side of the same by the insertion of a key through the opening 27 in the door and into the polygonal opening 28 in the cap 19, the key in outline corresponding at its end to said opening 28. lVhen a key of this kind is inserted through the openings 27, 28 and given a rotary movement, it may canse the member 14 to turn upwardly at its lower end and become freed from the notch or recess 32 in the member 17, and while the kev is thus in position and pressure maintained on the same to keep the lower end of the member 14 turned upwardly, the sliding door may be opened, since at that time the locking mechanism will be in disengaged condition. As hereinbefore explained, the mechanism is rendered adjustable to variations, in doors by reason of the adjustable connection of the lower end of the member 17 with the arm 15, which in edect constitutes an extension et' said member 17. The capv 19 at the upper end of the member 14 may be applied upon the sleeve 20 by being pushed directlyr thereon, the ball :23 yielding inwardlywith the spring '24 during the application of the cap to said sleeve and then springing into the annular groove 22 for releasalbly locking said cap on said sleeve. rlhe upper end ot the member 14 may also be detached from the door by an outward pull on said member in line with the sleeve 20, the ball 23 again yielding inwardly :by being forced against the side of the annular groove 22, to permit the detachment of the part 14 from the door.

I have shown and described in this application the preferred embodiment of my invention. but I do not limit my invention to all of the details of form and construction shown, since it is obvious that these details may be varied in many respects Without des parting from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is:

1. ln combination, a sliding door, and locking mechanism connected therewith comprising two main telescopic members arranged in inclined position with the upper end of one of said members'providedwith a crank handle and pivotally connected with the door, and the lower end of the other member pivotally connected with an abutment, the adjoining portions of said members having means adapted to interlock with each other when the door reaches its closed position.

2. In combination, a sliding door, and locking mechanism connected therewith comprising two main telescopic members arranged in inclined position and provided at their adjoining portions with parts to interlock with each other when the door is moved to closed position, means pivotally connecting the upper end of one of said members to the door, an arm pivotally secured to an abutment and having an angle member provided with a hole which has flattened sides and receives the lower end portion of the lower main member, and nuts engaging said member at opposite sides of said angle for securing said lower member in adjusted position, said lower member being threaded at opposite sides to engage said nuts.

3. In combination, a sliding door, and locking mechanism connected therewith comprising two main telescopic members arranged in inclined position, means pivotally connecting the upper end of one of said members to the door, and meansv pivotally connecting the lower end of the other of said members with an abutment, the adjoining portions of said members being adapted to interlock with each other when the door reaches its closed position, and the 'means pivotally connecting the upper end of one ot said main members to the door comprising a hub secured to the end of said member and having a cap, a concealed spring and a. ball-pawl, and a stud fastened to the doorand receiving said cap and having an annular groove affording a race-way for said ball `spring-pressed into it.

4. In combination, a sliding door, and locking mechanism connected therewith comprising two main telescopic members arranged in inclined position and adapted to slide one within the other and respectively having at their adjoining portions parts to automatically .interlock when the door is closed, one of said members being a tube pivotally connected at its upper end with the door, and the other of said members being a rod pivotally connected at its lower end with an abutment and at its upper lend entering said tube.

5. In combination, a sliding door, and locking mechanism connected therewith comprising .two main telescopic members arranged in inclined position and adapted to slide, in the line of their length, alon and upon each other, one of said members eing a tube pivotally connected at its upper end with the door and the other' of said members being a rod pivotally connected at its lower end with an abutment and at its upper end entering said tube, and said tube being provided on its lower end with a cap aording a. projecting lip and the upper portion of said rod being formed with a ratchet recess to receive and interlock with said lip when the door is moved to closed position.

6. In combination, a.. sliding door, and locking mechanism connected therewith comprising two main members to slide one upon the other and having at their adjoining portions means orinterlocking said members to resist opening movement of the door, one of said members being pivotally connected with the door and the other member with an abutment, and means loosely securing adjacent portions of said members against complete lateral separation from each other, this loose connection aording to the adjacent portions of said members a limited freedom to sag downwardly when the door is moved to closed position, so that the sagging of said portions may serve to eiect the automatic interlocking of said members with each other when the door is moved to closed position.

7. In combination, a sliding door, and

door opening mechanism connected therewith pivotally connected at one end with said door and at the other en d with an abutment, the means pivotally connecting said mechanism to the door comprising a stud secured to the door and having a circumi'erential groove, a cap secured on the end of Said mechanism and adapted to be slipped upon and 0E said stud, and a spring pressed pawl carried by the end of said mechanism and adapted to said groove for pivotally mounting the mechanism on the stud and permitting the same, when force is applied, to be withdrawn therefrom or applied thereto.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 24th .day of March, A. D. 1917.

ALBERT J. ROSENTRETER. Witnesses:

CHARLES C. GILL,

ARTHUR MARION.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. I 

